FLCL Fan Fiction ❯ Emotions and Monsters ❯ Roommates ( Chapter 6 )

Unfortunately, getting home didn't solve anything. When Eri and I arrived, there was a police car parked in front of the house. The two cops intercepted us before we had a chance to get inside, ushering me the back of their car and leaving Eri standing in front of the door.

We drove for nearly twenty minutes, leaving the city of Mabase behind us. There were no stops until we drove up to the nearby military base. Two members of a military patrol escorted me from the police car into the base and left me in what looked like an interrogation room.

The room had a large mirror on one wall, and a table with two chairs in the center of the room. I must have sat there staring at the door for over an hour before fatigue claimed me. I leaned over onto the table, laying my head on my forearms. It felt like I had just closed my eyes when I heard the door scrape open.

"I brought you a can of juice," a man's voice stated quietly. "I heard somewhere that you don't like carbonated drinks."

I didn't raise my head even though I heard the can get set on the table. "I didn't hit the T.V.," I said. "Why am I here this time?"

The sound of a large wad of paper hitting the table preceded the sound of the other chair being pulled out. "It's simple. You're here because she's back. That's it."

I've been here for who knows how long, and he won't give me a straight answer. "Amarao," I said warningly, sitting up and leaning back in the chair, "I don't want to play games. I'm tired, a little angry, and not ready to put up with your word games. Why am I here?"

The red-haired man frowned at me from behind his sunglasses and one of his fake eyebrows twitched. Instead of answering me, he flipped open one of the several files he had in front of him. "Even though you don't know it, we've been watching you since she first left. When Medical Meccanica rebuilt their building, we wondered who would stop the robots when they started coming again."

He leaned back in his chair and threw the can of juice at me. "I didn't think you would have the guts to do anything about it. After you hit that satellite back into space, I knew you had the ability to, but I wasn't really sure if you had the guts. But, proving me wrong, you fought robot warriors for four years."

I just looked at him blankly; Amarao frowned even more and continued, holding up a second file. "In here, we have recorded every single enemy you have faced down, from the time and date to the location and how you defeated them."

"So what?"

One of those infuriating eyebrows twitched again. "I'm trying to offer you some help, boy. The least you could do is be civil."

I snorted. "I exhaust myself fighting then, just as I get home, a handful of your goons abduct me, then I'm left sitting in this room for who knows how long. You want me to be civil, but you've been anything but. How, exactly, does that work out?"

"I'm trying to help," Amarao repeated.

Pushing my chair away from the table, I stood up and moved over to the door. "I really don't think I need your help," I told him. "When Haruko was her before, you weren't even able to help yourself." With a jerk, I pulled the door open. "If it's not asking too much, it would be civil of you to have a car take me back to Mabase," I finished sarcastically, not even looking back. As I figured, the car that had brought me to the bas was waiting for me outside.

Since the agents dropped me of at the outskirts of Mabase, I didn't get home until well after midnight. Contrary to what I expected, there was nobody waiting up for me. As quietly as I could, I made my way up the stairs and into my bedroom. I shoved my guitar under my bed, stripped down and climbed into bed, and was asleep within moments.

My sleep didn't last. A loud noise brought me quickly awake. I stumbled out of bed in my boxers and threw my door open . . . To find that half of the hallway and Eri's entire bedroom were gone.

I managed to skid to a halt just before going over the edge and falling ten feet to the debris strewn ground. I gaped at seeing the ground where previously my house had stood, then a pair of giant metal feet caught my attention. A sound crashed into my sleep clouded brain, the sound of Eri screaming. My eyes tracked up from the robots legs across it's torso to it's right arm, where a massive hand was clenched around Eri's slender body.

My glare was drawn from there to the robots shoulder, where I could see Haruko standing, keeping her balance by leaning on the thing's head. When the reality of what I was seen forced its way into my mind, my brain suddenly heated up; my eyesight went tunnel vision, a bright red blocking out everything to the side and only allowing me to see Haruko.

I leapt into the air, intent on Haruko and only Haruko; she easily dodged my punch, grabbing my arm after my fist had left its impression on the metal of the robot's head. "Just think, Takkun," she purred in my ear. "If you're trying to fight me, who's going to save your little girlfriend?" With a flick of her wrist, she spun me around in midair; using the momentum of my movement, I kicked out at her. She tried to dance out of reach of the blow, but her eyes opened wide and her mouth was agape as I knocked her away and out of sight.

Without giving my actions any thought, and still standing on thin air, I turned myself around and flew towards the hand that was clenched around Eri. Her shrieks were growing weaker, and I could see her face beginning to turn the same shade of color as her hair as the air was squeezed out of her.

All I had to do was touch the metal wrapped around her, and it exploded outward. I caught Eri before she could fall to the ground, and saw the robot reeling backwards as I carried her through the air to set her down in the doorway to my room. Slowly, I straightened my body, my back to the robot that I knew was still there.

This time the punch I threw didn't just dent the robot--it blew its body into about billion different chunks. As the pieces of metal began slapping into the ground, I realized that I was still standing on air about twenty feet off of the ground; with realization came movement: I quickly fell the distance left between myself and dirt.

I had made it most of the way back up the stairs before the house was shaken by an explosion; without even thinking about it, I knew that there would be no evidence of my robotic opponent outside except for the gaping hole in the side of our house. Eri was still standing where I left her in front of the door to my room.

She was wearing nothing more than a light nightdress, and I could see her shivering in the cool night air. Since there was nowhere else for her to stay, I ushered her into my room and into the top bunk. Since she was in shock--a blank look was on her face as she stared up at the ceiling--I tucked a blanket around her and wished her goodnight. She didn't answer, and I turned out the light and went back to bed.

My eyes were just starting to close when the presence of someone standing next to my head made them snap back open. I saw Eri standing there; she stood silently for a few moments, then pulled my blankets back and climbed onto my bed. She snuggled her body up against mine and pulled the covers back up.

"Uh, Eri?" I stammered.

She pulled my arm around her and nestled her head into my pillow. "I'm cold," she murmured, sounding half asleep. She coughed a handful of raspy coughs and sighed, then fell asleep.

What's going on here? I wondered as the scent of Eri's hair started to make my head spin. I get the feeling that something important is happening here. But what is it?

Damn. Now I was confused again.